Overview

If you decide to transfer your business to the Internet or create a new one, you will need a high-quality e-commerce platform that includes the main components: a showcase, cart, payment system, delivery system, and others. Today there are many e-commerce platforms created to optimize all business processes. However, Shopify is one of the most popular and common options.

You are probably interested in the question - is Shopify suitable for solving your business problems?

Just say that there are other tools for online business, for example, Wix or WooCommerce. But we boldly assert that Shopify is a flexible solution, applicable to various types of activities. This platform includes a huge number of components that are not available to competitors. We recommend reading this review in full to learn more about Shopify products.

What is Shopify?

The idea to use the Internet for sales came a long time. However, until 2006, full-fledged e-commerce platforms did not exist. Thanks to the Canadian snowboard vendor, Shopify was introduced to the world.

Today Shopify is the best e-commerce solution. This is a powerful platform with a huge number of tools and ample opportunities to make fine settings. Just look at the statistics:

About one million of all online stores use Shopify.

Over 3 thousand employees of the company are working to further improve the popular platform.

More than 60 billion dollars is the annual turnover of funds through this platform.

How Does It Work?

Shopify's success is based on the desire of its developers to use all modern marketing strategies to increase sales. For example, Shopify actively uses alternative platforms (eBay, Amazon), as well as social networks (Facebook, Instagram) to expand business and attract new customers. It also provides special tools for solving various technical problems, for example, Shopify chat for communication with support specialists, and other options. In more detail about the principles of the platform and why it may be the best option for everyone we will discuss later in this Shopify review.

Screenshots of the Shopify Platform

Shopify Prices

Affordable pricing is one of the reasons why Shopify is so popular:

The main functions of the platform for $ 26. You will be able to sell any volumes of goods. If you refuse to use the Shopify Payments tool, you will pay a fee of 2% per transaction.

Extended functionality for $ 71. You can use additional tools that greatly simplify the managing process at online store. You will pay a commission of 1% per transaction (if Shopify Payments tool refused).

An advanced version of the platform for $ 266. Includes automated reporting modules and shipping cost calculation. If you refuse Shopify Payments, your commission will be 0.5% per transaction.

Additional 'Lite' tariff with support for the project promotion in social networks for about $ 9 per month.

Tariff 'Plus', designed for giant online stores at a price of $ 2,000 per month.

The above Shopify plans correspond to your monthly costs depending on the selected tariff. You also have to pay for the domain name for your online store (from $ 14 and up).

You can use the following options for payment tools:

Native Shopify payment gateway, using which the transaction fee is not charged. Unfortunately, it is available in some countries only (USA, UK, Canada, Australia and some others).

Third-party payment module (information on commissions per transaction is given above).

Manual payment method (commission is not provided).

Pros & Cons

Let's look at the advantages of the Shopify platform:

Easy setup and management. You will be able to study the documentation provided to users of the Shopify store.

A huge number of Shopify templates with excellent external features and functions. In total, there are about 200 themes. You can create your own templates or buy them from the developers.

Open source code. If you have programming skills, you can make any settings at your discretion. If necessary, you can use outsourcing services to expand the functionality of an online store.

Scalability and flexibility. Shopify is the ideal solution for both a small store and a large supermarket.

Ability to install additional modules purchased in Shopify App Store. You will be able to use the services of designers and programmers from the large Shopify community.

Excellent Shopify customer service with experts who assist each client 24/7. This is one of the key advantages of Shopify over other platforms.

Disadvantages:

Not the best URL option for SEO. Shopify has subdirectories like '/news', '/blog' etc.

If you cannot use the integrated payment module (not supported in all countries), you are forced to pay a commission for each transaction.

Pretty expensive multilingual templates.

Some difficulties of setting up content on a site that is not related to e-commerce.

Top Rated Shopify Features

The Shopify ecommerce platform is number one on the following criteria:

Easy to set up. Despite the presence of a large number of modules and settings, you can easily adapt the online store for your business tasks.

A wide selection of templates and their flexibility. The online store has a good design and is well displayed on devices with any screen diagonal.

A good set of tools for SEO and social networking (optional). The only flaw with the URL was described above.

Key features of the platform:

Excellent set of tools for products presentation (video images, etc.).

Ample opportunities to create various product descriptions.

A convenient shopping cart with a reminder function for pending purchases via e-mail.

Special form for user reviews.

Support of various payment options. Shopify platform users can choose any of about 100 available payment gateways, including Shopify Payments native payment gateway.

Opportunities for selling information products. You can customize the delivery by e-mail, connect the system of automatic tax calculation and so on.

Using Shopify, you can set an account system for online store users.

Reliable protection of all financial transactions through the use of SSL-protocol.

Availability of the Shopify coupon system with the opportunities to customize the volume and validity.

Speed ​​& Data Security

High degree of protection of transmitted data, especially financial transactions.

Shopify developer took into account all of the requirements listed above and was able to develop a better e-commerce platform.

No one wants to wait too long. Buyers leave sites if their pages load longer than 4 seconds. These are official statistics. Therefore, Shopify works very quickly, even if you have a hypermarket with a huge product range. At the same time Shopify does not overburden the hosting. Therefore, you will not have problems with your hosting provider.

Another problem is the security of payments. Shopify cooperates only with reliable payment services, such as PayPal or Google Wallet. Residents of some countries will be able to use the built-in payment gateway. Shopify also motivates testers to search for the weak points of the payment systems for their elimination. This is a fast and absolutely secure platform for providing quality online stores services. You should have no doubt that is Shopify safe.

The Best Shopify Plan

Choosing a Shopify tariff depends on your needs and the scale of your business. To open a new online store from scratch, you can use the plan for $ 29 per month. It includes all the necessary tools needed for comfortable online store management. You can also buy a unique domain name. By default, your domain will contain the 'Shopify' brand name.

Functions available under the $ 29 per month plan:

Customizable online store module.

POS-system to automate the process of receiving payments (integrated to iPad).

Support for Facebook and Pinterest modules (purchased separately).

Buy button to add to any websites.

If you refuse or cannot use the built-in Shopify Payments module, you will be charged a fee for each sale (2% of the transaction value).

Payment Acceptance System

If you can use Shopify Payments (located in the region where this system is supported), you get the following features:

Support for all types of credit cards without the need for additional configuration.

View detailed information about payments received for any time period.

Automated process of interrupting transactions with the return of funds to customers.

No commission for each transaction.

Create reports and more.

PayPal is a great alternative for those who cannot use Shopify Payments. It will be available after setting up your PayPal Express Checkout account.

Web Page Design Options

Your online store will look original and unique. You can use any of about 200 Shopify templates. Websites created on the Shopify platform are perfectly displayed on mobile devices.

You can choose a design that matches your product or make changes to an existing template. The platform offers a simple visual interface to change the look of a template. You can make changes to the source code for more advanced settings (however, this is required rarely).

We recommend setting up the following:

Use colors that match your brand.

Add a company logo.

The choice of what will be displayed on the home page.

You will not be dealing with 'tabula rasa'. You have ready-made designs that you can easily change to your liking. Due to the presence of a large number of tools, you will not have problems with customizing the original design of web pages.

App Store with Shopify Plugins and Modules

At some point, you can understand that the standard Shopify functionality is not enough for you. In this case, you can download free or paid modules when visiting the Shopify App Store. There is a wide range of options available that help expand existing functionality or provide integration with other services.

Frankly, usually the most useful modules are paid. However, their benefits are much higher than the price, and you can see this in practice. Competitive platforms include a wealth of features. As a result, you have a jumble of modules that you often do not need. On the one hand, you do not need to pay for the purchase of modules. On the other hand, you get a slow online store with incomprehensible functionality for you. Therefore, Shopify relies on its own App Store, and we consider this approach as he most appropriate.

Applications that you can buy or get for free:

Modules for accounting.

Modules for fast data exchange.

Advanced shopping cart with additional features.

Applications for creating more detailed reports and many others.

If you think that the standard functionality does not meet your needs, you can always go to the App Store. You can also ask the developers to create a module specifically for your project.

Shopify Customer Service

Shopify provides the ability to communicate with support staff in the following ways:

Via web chat;

Call to the hotline number;

Via e-mail.

You can always get fast and qualified support. This is another advantage of Shopify over direct competitors. However, you are unlikely to get an answer to a specific question, for example, if you have a problem with writing code. In this case, we recommend leaving your question on the forum.

We also noticed several shortcomings regarding calls to the hotline number:

Telephone support is available for residents of certain regions (for example, UK, USA etc.)

Calling a specialist by phone is not a desirable solution to the problem, so you can hardly immediately find the required numbers on the Shopify official website.

The best way to get help is to use the web chat. It is available around the clock.

For Whom Shopify is the Best Option?

Shopify platform stands out among many competitors due to its multi-purpose. It is well suited for:

E-commerce newbies who are launching an online store for the first time. This is due to the ease of setting up and controlling the platform.

Small businesses seeking to minimize their project launch costs. The base plan offers an optimal set of tools and functions.

Those who wish to set up their online store without third-party assistance. Shopify offers documentation with detailed explanations.

Those who already have their own store and want to expand its functionality. Shopify integrates perfectly with other platforms.

For large businesses and fast-growing companies. This platform adapts to the needs of the user and scales well.

The maximum benefit from the use of Shopify is provided to beginners. This platform opens up broad business opportunities with minimal start-up costs.

Verdict

Shopify is a popular and probably the best solution for online business. Before you decide to choose a platform, let's summarize.

If you have issues, you can contact the support service working around the clock.

Full adaptation with projects of any scale.

Integration with third-party services, which is useful for those who use the dropshipping model.

However, there are some points that make it impossible for Shopify to be a perfect e-commerce platform (is there really something perfect in this world?):

Since this is not a free platform, you will need at least a small budget to start.

You will have to pay a transaction fee if you cannot use the Shopify Payments.

There may be some problems with the language settings.

Some useful features are quite expensive.

There are some problems with SEO, but not critical.

It was a pretty big review. However, we tried to consider all the most important aspects of the Shopify platform. We hope that you will be able to make the right decision in choosing the best platform for the online store now.

Shopify Example Sites

Reviews for Shopify

Simon

Previously, I tried to launch a site on WooCommerce and could not figure out the settings. I tasted Shopify. Here everything is much simpler and clearer.

Winner7

A great option for dropshipping. At the App Store I found a lot of useful things absolutely free.

John

My site is powered by Wix, and I'm happy with everything. Learning something new does not see the point now. Maybe I will try Shopify for my next projects.

Kelly

I had to contact the support service twice. Surprisingly, I received an answer immediately. In general, I had no problems working with Shopify. Any newcomer can handle this.

FAQ

Q: I see the 'powered by Shopify' inscription in the footer of the site. How to remove it?

A: Find the 'Footer.liquid' file and delete the code section starting with '{{powered_by_link'.

Q: How to set up an online store?

A: Do the following:

Go to the official Shopify website and click the Get started button;

Come up with a name for the store and fill out a web form;

Select the currency to receive payments;

Add the first items to the catalog;

Go to the admin panel and customize the look of the website;

Purchase a domain name and set up a payment gateway.

More detailed instructions can be found on the Shopify website.

Q: How to make money on Shopify?

A: If you already have a business strategy, just create a website and add products. Use the available tools to increase brand awareness. Over time, you will be able to expand the audience of customers and get a good profit.

Q: How to add a Facebook Pixel?

A: Go to the appropriate section in the Shopify administrative panel and add an identifier.

Q: How to change a store name?

A: Go to the General section of the settings and enter a new name in the appropriate field.

Q: How to fulfill orders?

A: Go to the Orders section and select unfulfilled orders. Determine the required number of orders to fulfill.

Q: I want to add Google Analytics. How can I do it?

A: Select the appropriate name in the Preference section and enter the Google code into the field.

Q: How can I add a new product?

A: First, create a collection in Products>Collections. Set the type of the new collection to 'Manual'. Go to the Products section and add products to the collection you just created.

Q: How can I change URL?

A: Go to /admin/products/producttitle and click Edit SEO button. Here you can change url of each page, collection or product.

Q: How to recognize a Shopify theme is using?

A: Go to the homepage of the site and open the source code of the page (Ctrl + U for Windows or Option + Command + U for MacOS). Use the tool to search for the 'Shopify.theme' entry.

Q: How many people use this platform?

A: Shopify is used in 175 countries by over 1.2 million people. About one million online stores are powered by Shopify.